Leaking rear differential

Apologies if this is a duplicate thread. I haven't figured out the search engine on this site yet. I'm new to my 2002 4Runner by 2 days and it looks like the dealer's vehicle description was "off" on the condition and the rear diff is leaking. Any ideas on how much this costs to fix? I will get inspected and find out WHAT aspect of it is leaking, but I'm guessing this is an expensive job.

 

do you have pictures? where is it leaking from?

 

Here are my pics

 

That's one rust SOB. Id guess that you have a bad seal on the diff cover or one of the crush washers on the fill or drain plug needs to be replaced. I would start there. Easy and cheap fix

 

It looks a lot worse than it is because of that stupid fuel tank cover. What a waste of metal. Inferior metallurgy on all of those models. I ordered a brand new OE one that I will have coated and rust proofed before install. Most of the rust on the diff itself is surface, but yeah, I'd love to replace the whole thing. Maybe in a year, but it's $2000 for parts and labor to replace that bugger. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

i second replacing the washers and the seal, those parts are super cheap and easy to replace

 

Let us know if that doesn't fix your problem.

 

I'm getting a full vehicle inspection Wednesday so I'll see what they say. I hope it's that simple. The smell of gear oil is starting to fill my garage. Hasn't started dripping on the floor yet, but that's a matter of time.

 

What did u ever find out about this?